Use the links above to see more photos.

According to Chinese legend, twelve animals quarreled as to who was to head the cycle of years. The Gods decided to hold a contest. The animals had to swim across a river and the order of finish would determine their places in the cycle. The animals gathered at the shore and jumped in. But unbeknown to the ox, the rat jumped on its back, and just before the ox reached the far shore, the rat jumped off ahead and won the race. The pig, who was very lazy, took last place.

With this year's Tet, the new moon of February 17th, we begin the Year of the Pig, the last in the cycle of twelve lunar years.